Pittsburgh-based Aurora Innovation, a self-driving technology company, recently announced plans to expand operations to Phoenix, extending its Fort Worth to El Paso autonomous truck lane.
The 1,000-mile passage takes more than 15 hours to complete, and Aurora expects to begin commercial pilots for customers during the first half of 2025. Vehicles will go driverless on the route later in the year.
The company has hauled more than 7,000 loads for pilot customers across nearly two million commercial miles.
Aurora is also hosting a two-day Partner Summit to hold collaborative conversations on a wide range of industry topics. Attendees will include more than 20 carriers, industry safety experts, regulators, first responders, and law enforcement.
Company leaders will share updates on a variety of projects including the planned route expansion between El Paso and Phoenix.
“We strongly believe that engaging key partners – the people who will regularly interact with the Aurora Driver – is critical to the success of our driverless commercial product,” Ossa Fisher, Aurora president, said. “Our Partner Summit allows us to showcase the capabilities and competence of the Aurora Driver and build trust with our stakeholders that we’re on the right path to safely deploy driverless trucks.”
Nat Beuse, Aurora’s Chief Safety Officer, will evaluate readiness for driverless operations.